Buffalo developer sentenced to over 2 years for rigging bid for Gov. Cuomo’s Upstate economic initiative

Louis Ciminelli leaves the Thurgood Marshall Federal Courthouse after his sentencing on December 3, 2018 in New York. Ciminelli received two years and four months in prison following his conviction over the summer for his role in the Buffalo Billion scandal. (Alec Tabak for New York Daily News)

A Buffalo developer was slapped with a sentence of two years and four months in prison Monday for rigging a $750-million bid tied to Gov. Cuomo's signature Upstate development initiative.

Lou Ciminelli colluded with Cuomo’s hand-picked economic guru, Alain Kaloyeros, to secure his company’s winning bid for a “Buffalo Billion” project. The sentence cemented the downfall of Ciminelli, the 63-year-old ex-CEO of LPCiminelli who was recently diagnosed with cancer. His company was once involved in numerous major developments around the state and he was one of the largest donors to cultural institutions in Buffalo.

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“LPC could have won this beauty contest if it competed on the merits,” Manhattan Federal Judge Valerie Carponi said. “Cheating may not have even been necessary. Even if he did not win this contract, so what?”

Prosecutors have said that Kaloyeros and a corrupt Albany lobbyist, Todd Howe, rigged the bid for Ciminelli because he was a major donor to Cuomo. LPC was handed the Riverbend project in Buffalo, a high-tech hub for Panasonic and Tesla that has produced around 600 jobs. Each job cost taxpayers $1.25 million, according to one estimate.

“When you’re competing for state projects that means you’re competing for taxpayer money...You should be purer than Caesar’s wife,” Caproni said.

“If you can’t live with that squeaky clean standard then stick with private projects.”

Ciminelli deleted his emails around the time he learned the feds were investigating. The move weighed heavily in the judge’s sentence — and she let him know it.

“Mr. Ciminelli you can cock your head and look like you don’t know what I’m talking about but you do know what I’m talking about. That’s why you deleted your Gmail account!” she said.

The judge also imposed a $500,000 fine.

Ciminelli touted his record of philanthropy and lamented that he could no longer be “a moving force” in his “beloved city.” He said he had refused a favorable plea deal because he did not believe he was guilty.

Caproni allowed Ciminelli to remain out on bail as he pursues an appeal, acknowledging that the legal theory surrounding the case was complex.

Two other execs from the Syracuse-based developer Cor will be sentenced later this week for rigging a separate bid tied to Buffalo Billion.